Related Online Exclusives

OM Aroma products embody a commitment to organic, holistic living.

By Joanna Cosgrove
Online Editor

As a touring concert pianist, Angela Kim had always been keen on caring for her most precious asset – her hands. But after developing an allergic reaction to a store-bought lotion right before a performance, she dove headlong into researching skin care products only to learn that even preferred “natural” skincare companies dilute their formulas with synthetic chemicals and preservatives in order to increase shelf life and reduce manufacturing costs. Her research, coupled with her passion for organic living, inspired her to create her own holistically fresh and organic luxury spa line – OM Aroma, a skin care range from her New York-based company, OM Aroma & Co. LLC, that’s full of skin-healthy ingredients and free of parabens, formaldehyde, mineral oil, synthetic dyes and fragrances.

Ms. Kim’s test marketed her specially formulated creams among her friends and upon realizing that her idea filled a specific niche in the marketplace, she hired a team of holistic formulators, aromatherapists and skin care experts to help refine the formulas with the commitment to providing luxury skin care products that weren’t laden with preservatives and chemicals.

While many brands invoke the “organic” buzzword on their labeling, OM Aroma products are actually 80% certified organic. “We use premium organic ingredients in order to ensure that the quality of the products are unsurpassed in terms of delivering the purest vitamins, minerals and antioxidants into the skin,” affirmed Ms. Kim. “Sometimes amazing oils are not available in organic form, but they have such beneficial qualities that we decide to include it. Every single ingredient is chosen for a very specific purpose, and they come from all over the world from the best suppliers we can find.”

OM Aroma’s ingredient suppliers are certified by Organic Tilth Certified Organic (OTCO) and the USDA National Organic Program (NOP).

Organic ingredients can often pose shelf life fragility issues and with that in mind, the company does employ certain measures to maintain the continuity of the fresh and natural element of its line. “OM Aroma & Co. manufactures the creams and sugar scrubs in a limited and controlled environment under the strictest quality control,” said Ms. Kim. “We do not mass produce the line since most skincare products are left in warehouse boxes or on the shelves for so long that the beneficial ingredients no longer work by the time they are purchased.”

She also added: “In order to effectively protect our customers from harmful bacteria, yeast, and fungus, we use 1% of a gentle, non-toxic, paraben-and-formaldehyde free preservative - Polyaminopropyl Biguanide – [which] is used in saline solution.”

Ms. Kim contended that the key point of difference that makes OM Aroma stand apart in the crowded “good for you” skin care market, is the line’s successfully fusion of two “opposing” concepts - luxury and organic.

“Our Sexy Green Has Arrived campaign…embodies three concepts: luxury organic, eco-friendly packaging and social consciousness (our Dollars and Scents program employs women who are re-entering the work force and need a flexible schedule due to having children, health issues, or a desire for a career change),” she said.

New Products

OM Aroma’s core product line is comprised of a small but finely-honed collection of sugar scrubs and moisturizing treatments. The company’s latest line – Tuffle Trio – taps into Ms. Kim’s fondness for anti-aging face creams. “Ever since I was young, I loved luxury anti-aging face creams, and I would spend hours at my mom’s dresser, trying on all of her creams,” she recalled, acknowledging that this experience helped her to zero in on exactly the kind of cream she would create for her own line. “We gathered a focus group of equally discriminating women to help us while we were in the R & D phase. Real women are our inspiration.”

The line is billed as “an organic breakthrough with an unprecedented complex of seven vitamins, minerals, peptides, amino acids and antioxidants.” Each cream in the line has a unique purpose for different skin types.

Crème Luxe 1 for oily skin has a delicate consistency and non-greasy texture. It features a complex of seven vitamins, minerals, amino acids, peptides, Omega-6 and 9 fatty acids and antioxidants for cellular renewal and collagen production. It is formulated to normalize sebum production while reducing the appearance of blemishes and fine lines and offers natural broad-spectrum UV-A + UV-B shield via red raspberry.

In keeping with drawing product inspiration from real women, Ms. Kim noted that because many of her friends are pregnant, her company also just marked the debut of OM Baby, with the launch of Baby Amour Soap.